Ways to enhance your CPA firm’s marketing potential

06 September 2017

Marketing for any firm becomes one of the major tasks that helps the company to grow and reach new heights. The growth of any firm has no limits. It is endless. That is why marketing is done because we know that the sole purpose of any firm is to make maximum profits.

When we talk about the accounting industry, the marketing done by a CPA firm is a real task. For a CPA firm, marketing assists in getting maximum clients. But it is not as easy as it sounds. In this article, I have listed out a few important tips to work upon.

• Make a plan – A good marketing plan includes a lot of research about the firm, the clients and the market. A plan is an outline of the tasks which you need to perform and in what ways and to target which audience. Planning is the first step in carrying out any activity in the firm.

Here are a few things to consider before making a plan.

1. List out important clientsMarketing is done for the clients – for future and existing both. Knowing the clients who already exist in the firm is a part of the plan. The existing clients that are big in size and market-niche and have a brand name in the market are important for your firm’s marketing plan and you can use them for referrals for future clients.
2. Do the SWOT analysisSWOT is Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats. List out all the SWOT that are internal. The weaknesses can be turned into the strengths as they are internal and can be controlled. However, the opportunities and threats which are external cannot be controlled but they become important as they might affect the firm’s atmosphere.
3. TargetMList out the audience that you want to market, starting with the local ones.
4. Which services you want to marketList out all the services that your firm provides. List out all the services that are the strengths of your firm. Consider all the services that are most profitable and which are the easiest to sell.
5. Realistic goalsDefine your goals. What are you aiming to achieve and how long it should take you to reach your goals and how will you measure your progress? Consider these questions and put them into your plan.

• Develop your Website – it is obvious that your firm has its own website. But is it updated? When was the last time you took out time to refresh it? Does your website look interesting and attractive? Does it have all the information that is supposed to be there? Does your website have enough details and your updated contact details, if any?
• Use a lot of Social Media, it is free – We know that social media platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter and Facebook are free. They are free – so we should make effective use of it. Yes? Social Media is a great platform to build networks. You can even stay updated about the market by the use of such platforms.When you come in contact with a person who is important, connect with him on LinkedIn. Network building is a game changer. Building relationships with people will prove to be a very effective thing to do in marketing.
• Start a regular blog and maintain it – Writing blogs is an opportunity for the firm to be a “thought leader”. By writing blogs, you will have the content to post on your social media profiles which helps to build a reputation in the minds of the readers. The content should be anything related to the industry. There are many online magazines too which can publish your articles on their page.
• Get to the top of search results – It is obvious that you would like to see your firm to be the first when anyone searched about the services or something related to your firm. You can do this by Search Engine Optimization (SEO). SEO is a process in which the number of visitors on a particular website is maximized. It can be a great challenge to keep up with the SEO standards.
• Maximize email marketing – There are many firms who connect with the clients via email. However, many firms do not make effective use of the service. Email marketing means sending emails to your clients with eye-catching content that focuses on business strategy and financial tips. It is important that you communicate consistently. You can even send the links to your clients of the blogs to the website. This even helps in achieving views on your website.
• Social Responsibility – This is a way in which you can help the society by proving them help by doing something good for them. It will raise your firm profile and have a nice impact by the society towards your firm. But, never be shy about bragging about the good things you have done to the society. This is a great way of marketing. You can get involved in the society by doing

–          Local charities

–          Doing something which helps the elderly people

–          Helping clean up various parts of the city.

Never stop marketing

Marketing is a never ending process. Even the most successful firms never stop marketing. It is important to promote your firm continuously. Because there is a great competition in the market, you want your firm to be a great at what it does. Hence, it is very important to have a great marketing strategy that no other firm has.

Vishal Kurani

Bringing forth rich marketing experience in the accounting industry, Vishal blends his wealth of knowledge and creativity to educate accountants about the pressing industry issues. He is passionate about marketing and helps accountants scale their practice through his detailed write-ups.

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